Following the assassination of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson in midtown Manhattan on Wednesday, some radical left-wing journalists and social media users quickly reacted to his shocking death with celebratory, mocking or derisive responses.

Those voices included former Washington Post reporter Taylor Lorenz, who shared several posts in which he at least seemed to understand the murder while suggesting that other health insurance executives should be targeted.

“And people are wondering why we want these leaders dead,” Lorenz wrote, referencing Thompson’s death in a Bluesky post with a report about Blue Cross Blue Shield no longer providing anesthesia for the entire duration of some surgeries covers.

She later wrote on her Substack that if you or a loved one suffered or died after being denied coverage, it was “natural” to wish a similar fate on insurance bosses.

Taylor Lorenz’s Bluesky contribution to the Thompson murder. (Bluesky screenshot)

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“People are right to hate insurance company CEOs because these executives are responsible for an unimaginable amount of death and suffering,” she wrote Thursday. “I think it’s good to hold this broken system and the people in power who enable it accountable. Again, not so they can be murdered, but so we can change the system and start holding those in power accountable for their actions.”

In one post, left-wing journalist Ken Klippenstein joked that he hoped Thompson’s ambulance ride “was on the network.”

When media outlets reported on Thompson’s shooting on their respective social media channels, the top comments – comments with the most likes – made fun of the murder.

“Thoughts and deductibles to the family. Unfortunately, my condolences are off-net,” one user shared on CNN’s Tik Tok, racking up nearly 32,000 likes. The comments section on the MSNBC post included “Thoughts. But prayers first require prior approval” and “My prayers are rejected for now,” was posted in the thread of the New York Times post.

Anthony Zenkus, a Colombian professor and education director of The Safe Center — a victim assistance agency that provides services to survivors of family violence — was among the posters to die unnecessarily every year so that insurance company executives like Brian Thompson can become multimillionaires.

In contrast to the taunts, social media channels were also flooded with voices questioning whether it was okay to respond to murder in this way, leading to questions about whether a culture of respect for life is a universal one be worth.

Robby Soave, Reason’s senior editor, asked on

Left-wing journalist Aaron Rupar was critical of progressives who used the murder to roast Thompson, declaring, “Absolutely depraved to take a dunk when the guy was just murdered in cold blood.”

Other commenters pointed out that they were “disgusted” by certain comments and found it “despicable” to respond in this way.

“I think this sums up the far left’s worldview: If you run a company they don’t like, you deserve to die,” Fox News contributor and columnist Joe Concha told Fox News Digital.

Crisis management expert Robbie Vorhaus spoke to Fox News Digital about why there could be a huge uproar of polarized reactions online. He elaborated that this “illustrates both deep frustration with the health care system and a broader cultural loss of respect for human life.”

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Vorhaus expressed that the reason for the negative public outrage may be due to a combination of considerations about the current state of health care and evaluation of professional legacy and how that reaction might impact progressive causes.

“The disproportionate anger and, in some cases, ridicule in response to this tragedy underscores the deep dissatisfaction that many Americans feel with our health care system,” Vorhaus said, sharing that “the systemic pain” does not justify violence.

United Healthcare CEO Brian Thompson, 50, was shot and killed in midtown Manhattan on Wednesday. (AP Photo/UnitedHealth Group via A)

“While it is appropriate to critically evaluate a person’s professional legacy, it is neither ethical nor constructive to do so in a way that dehumanizes or celebrates violence. “Brian Thompson was a leader, a father and a human being,” Vorhaus said, adding his death was “clearly tragic.”

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Manhattan-based psychotherapist Jonathan Alpert said the scary reactions belie progressive values.

“For progressive movements that often advocate for compassion, equality and justice, such reactions are particularly contradictory and counterproductive, but again, not surprising,” he told Fox News Digital. “I saw a similar phenomenon after the assassination attempt on Donald Trump. Many customers expressed disappointment that the shooter was unable to complete his mission. It brings the question into focus: Why does the party that is supposedly all about acceptance seem to reject people who might think differently than they do?”

Thompson’s killer is still at large and the motive is still unclear, but apparent messages left on bullet casings at the crime scene were intended to make a political statement about health insurance coverage denials.

Police sources told the New York Post that the words “deny,” “depose,” and “defend” were written on the live cartridges and shell casings left behind by the assassin after the shooting. There was only one word on every bullet and shell casing.

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“Apparently intentionally left to make a statement,” an NYPD investigator said Thursday. “This will help identify a motive and finally the suspect.”

Fox News’ Christina Coulter and Ashley Papa contributed to this report.